


One Year Later

by nychus



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Fluff, Gift Fic, Ignoct Indoor Gift Exchange, M/M, Post-Episode Ignis Verse 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:20:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24081211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nychus/pseuds/nychus
Summary: It's a year after the dawn before Ignis and Noctis can finally think about themselves.
Relationships: Noctis Lucis Caelum/Ignis Scientia
Comments: 6
Kudos: 66
Collections: The Ignoct Indoor Gift Exchange





	One Year Later

**Author's Note:**

> My gift for tiger_o_matic / backseatfishing (twitter/tumblr) who wanted:
> 
> _Something with 30s ignoct would be ideal! There isn't anything super specific I'm looking for, but maybe them going on a date for the first time after 10 years or with cats or something cute? LOL or noctis trying to cook for ignis. It doesn't have to be anything complicated, something simple works just fine too!_
> 
> I sure hope this meets cute simplicity!

Life had been busy since the return of The Dawn. Everyone was working together to get Eos back to a point of easier living. People were slowly making their way back to Insomnia, mostly settling near the wall where they could use the rubble to make new homes. The city proper was deemed too dangerous for most to venture into: too many broken buildings that could (and would) collapse at seemingly no provocation. Those that lived as hunters during the dark were now making a living going for supplies and looking for items in houses of anyone that would hire them.

Noctis was one of the ones working on a lovely little house near the broken wall. His was some distance away from much of the populace and Ignis often envied his ability to step away from the government while he found himself living in the cramped apartments near the makeshift government building during this time.

Not long after The Dawn, Noctis, his retinue, and various leaders of settlements across Lucis gathered to discuss the process of moving forward. Noctis almost immediately announced he would not rule the country. This announcement caused half those gathered to protest and the other half to cheer. Those agreeing had come to fight against Noctis as being king, saying that he was absent when his people needed him most, and they had been the ones to step up.

And Noctis agreed. “I was gone for ten years. I do not know the people of Lucis anymore. You are the men and women who took on the mantle of leadership and brought them to the end of the night. I was never meant to rule and I was always meant to be the last king for Lucis. The last Lucis Caelum. Besides, my family only got the role of leadership because the Astrals deemed my ancestors worthy of wielding the power of the Crystal. The Crystal is dead. The magic is gone. I am not needed.”

Gladio, Prompto, Cor, and a handful of others who had known Noctis before tried to argue against him. Ignis had been suspiciously quiet but spoke his mind once asked.

“As much as I hate to think of Noctis not being the king I know he can be, what he says is true. He does not know the world as the rest of us. I think we should respect his decision.”

In the end, it was agreed that Noctis would remain king in title, a symbol for the people who were glad to have the sunlight returned, but he would have no say in the ruling of the country. Basically, he’d do what he’d always done: show up at parties and celebrations, paraded around like a show chocobo, and slip away again to the comfort of his own home.

When Gladio later asked why Ignis was so quick to allow him the out, Ignis didn’t voice his real reason. The selfish reason that he hoped Noctis would agree to. If Noctis wasn’t ruling, perhaps they could have the domestic life that Ignis often fantasized about even if they had never discussed it.

It was almost a year later before Ignis had a chance to even broach the topic. Even though Noctis stepped aside, Ignis had promised to help get the new government working with all of his knowledge of the old. After it was clear his time was almost completely taken up by fielding questions, he set a hard deadline for when he would stop. That deadline was the anniversary celebration of The Dawn. He would step aside then and not come back.

Because he was so busy, Ignis had hardly had the chance to see Noctis’s new home or even help with its construction. He hated that he was being a terrible friend, but Noctis had insisted it was alright as it was what was best for the healing world.

The day before the anniversary celebrations, Ignis handed over his last notes, said his goodbyes, and was out of the building promptly at 17:00. Part of him worried about leaving the group to fend for themselves but he knew he couldn’t always be their crutch; they’d have to figure it out on their own.

Grabbing his chocobo out of the stables (the birds were much more useful in traversing the area than cars at the moment), Ignis rode to the outskirts of the town to where Noctis’s home was. Once there, he let the chocobo loose in a gated pasture before heading towards the front door. However, a voice barely reached his ears which led Ignis to believe Noctis was in the backyard talking to someone.

Stepping around the house, Ignis smiled as he watched Noctis sitting on a bench, playing with a handful of kittens while their attentive mother watched on. As much as Ignis believed Noctis would make a good king, this was how it should be. Noctis smiling, laughing, and playing with cats.

As if feeling eyes on him, Noctis glanced over to the gate Ignis was leaning on and his smile widened. “Specs! What are you doing here?”

“I thought I’d come say hello,” Ignis responded as he let himself in the garden. The kittens watched him curiously and the mother cat’s tail twitched in annoyance, but Ignis was allowed to join Noctis on the little bench. “I am officially free of any government work.”

“What?” Noctis’s eyes widened.

“Yes. I can finally take a moment to breathe.”

“I’m glad to hear that, but how long until you get antsy and start worrying about everything?” Noctis asked with a grin, but Ignis didn’t reward him with a reply.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Ignis now also playing with a kitten that had gotten brave enough to climb up his pant leg.

“So, what are your plans now?” Noctis broke the silence.

“I’m not sure,” was the honest answer. He hadn’t thought about what he would do once his time in the government was up. All he thought about was Noctis. “I was hoping you would help me figure it out.”

It wasn’t clear to Ignis at first that Noctis understood the true meaning behind those words. Before, as they drove around Lucis, biding their time before going to Altissia, their relationship began to blur the lines. Comforting hugs became longer cuddles. Those cuddles became twining into each other at night, even when it was unnecessary. Finally, a few days before the left Lucian shores, they were sitting on top of the lighthouse, listening to the waves and watching the stars. It was there that Noctis finally crossed that line, leaning up to kiss Ignis.

“I just, wanted to know,” Noctis had whispered before Ignis grabbed his face and kissed him again, more passionately. They had a few more moments they shared, but once they were on their way to Altissia, there had been no time to even talk. And then the covenant happened, Ignis left with Ardyn to find a way to save Noctis, and then Noctis entered the Crystal for ten years. Once he was back, everyone was too busy and it never seemed like the right time to talk, even if Noctis had promised they would one day soon.

After a few seconds, however, Noctis leaned into Ignis, resting his head on Ignis’s shoulder. “I’d love to.”

They looked at each other and smiled before Ignis leaned down just enough to kiss Noctis’s forehead. He then rested his head on top of Noctis’s. There they sat, watching the sunset, staying long enough that the mother cat called her kittens away for the night.

“Go with me to the celebration tomorrow?” Noctis asked.

“Of course,” Ignis smiled.

“Make sure I’m awake so I don’t miss the dawn tomorrow?”

Ignis chuckled. Sweet, shy Noctis. This was his way of asking Ignis to stay the night. “I hope you have plenty of coffee.”

“Only the best,” Noctis replied with laughter ringing in his voice. Silence returned for a few minutes and then Noctis asked in a voice dripping with hope, “What do you want now?”

“You. Always you. Only you.”

“Glad I worked hard on the kitchen,” Noctis grinned as he pulled away to look at Ignis. “And I’m glad I’ve an extra-large bed that should account for the absurdness of your long legs.”

“Here I thought a large bed would be so that you could accommodate all the cats.”

“I’m sure they’ll share.”

Ignis hummed in amusement as he watched the first of the starts begin to shine through the fading sunlight. He then let out a little guffaw, startling Noctis, who looked at him with confusion.

“Apologies, I just realized that it took the end of the world to finally get a chance to go on a date with you.”

Joining in the mirth, Noctis said, “That why you didn’t want me to be king?”

“A harmless fantasy over the years of you, me, and a little place to call our own.”

“And cats,” Noctis added.

“And cats. The _purr_ -fect life.”

Noctis groaned and pushed Ignis, declaring the date was off and he’d just sleep through tomorrow. He changed his tune when Ignis pulled him in for a kiss. With that kiss, all of the hardships they had faced before seemed to melt away and this was the beginning of their new life together.


End file.
